Diapers and incontinence guards for incontinent adults usually have a garment portion holding an absorbent body in place against the user's body and attachment means, which hold the garment portion in place also when the user is moving. A common type of attachment means are adhesive tapes or hook and loop fasteners of the touch-and close type which directly attach the front and rear portions of the absorbent article to each other. It is further known, through e.g., EP-A-0 287 388, EP-A-0 409 307, EP-A-0 528 282, EP-A-0 605 012 and FR-A-2 586 558, to attach the front and rear portions of the article by means of a belts at which the possibilities to adjust the fit are improved. The belt further provides a simplified change of diaper or incontinence guard, especially when the patient is standing up.
On a common type of belt diaper the belt portions are first attached around the waist of the patient and then the front portion of the diaper is attached to the outside of the belt using fastening means being arranged on the front portion, whereby the outsides of the belt serves as a reception surface for said fastening means.
Traditional belt materials have a tendency to fold themselves longitudinally upon usage and lie too close against the body. This is usually due to fact that the material does not exhibit the proper stiffness to be able to resist the different movements of the body and the pressure against the belt. The stiffness is usually improved by using a thicker material or a material being strongly bonded. Using this approach, the breathability of the material is considerably deteriorated and the belt feels warm and tight against the skin.